College of Business and Economics

April 19, 2024

TU’s accounting and business advisory services M.S. receives STEM designation

Program emphasizes the growing role of technology and data analytics in the accounting profession

Towson University’s accounting and business advisory services master’s degree earned designation as a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program from the Maryland Higher Education Commission. This designation serves as a recognition that the courses in the curriculum reflect what students need to be successful in the accounting industry today and in the future.

This designation recognizes the program’s emphasis on the growing role of technology and data analytics in the accounting profession.

“As the accounting profession has evolved, technology has played an increasingly important role in professional practice,” said Dr. Charles Russo, associate professor of Accounting and director of the M.S. in Accounting and Business Advisory Services at Towson University. “Data analytics with the use of technology pushes the profession toward higher order thinking skills.”

The program’s updated curriculum reflects the evolving demands of the profession.

The landscape of accounting services is being fundamentally reshaped by technological advancements, data analytics, and the rise of generative AI. The STEM designation highlights TU’s commitment to equipping the next generation of accountants with the modern skills they need to be successful in the profession.

A key advantage of the TU program is that it’s offered jointly by Towson University and the University of Baltimore, a partnership which began in 2004. The joint program allows students to enroll in accounting courses at both universities and offers a flexible format, including courses offered online and on-campus, making it ideal for working professionals seeking to advance in their careers.

The new designation gives international students the benefits of optional practical training (OPT) eligibility and an additional 24 months of United States residency with the STEM OPT extension on their visas. Towson University also offers a five-year accelerated dual degree in accounting (B.S.) and accounting and accounting and business advisory services (M.S.), which allows international undergraduate students to be eligible for OPT if they choose to add on the master’s degree.

Learn more about the accelerated dual degree in accounting and business advisory services

Towson University’s accounting programs emphasize high-quality academics and applied learning. In this program, students learn advanced skills in applied information technology, finance, and other relevant areas. Towson University is accredited by AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the highest standard for business education.

With a STEM-designated degree, students can expect hands-on learning experiences with real-world application, a high return-on-investment; and higher pay scales, job availability and longevity when entering STEM-oriented positions.

Learn more about TU’s M.S. in Accounting and Business Advisory Services program and the College of Business and Economics.

April 8, 2024

CBE Student Abigail Kuehl Wins 2024 College Cup

Antidote Haircare, a plant-powered haircare brand developed by Abigail Kuehl, a Towson University College of Business and Economics student, won the third annual College Cup.

Kuehl was one of seven finalists to pitch at the April 2 event, held at the StarTUp at the Armory in downtown Towson. She took home a cash prize of $10,000 to put towards her venture and a spot in the 2024 StarTUp Accelerator, where she will join several other founders for eight weeks to collaborate and accelerate their ventures.

“Thank you so much. I didn’t honestly think I was gonna win. I really came into it for the experience. Throughout this journey working with [the StarTUp Team] I have learned so much. Their feedback was so helpful and it was non-biased, and that’s exactly what I needed. I needed the outside perspective,” said Kuehl during her acceptance.

Kuehl boasts a wealth of experience as a master stylist and boutique salon owner and has a passion for addressing her clients’ needs. She’s committed to crafting a professional brand centered around clean, ingredient-first formulas. Along with her business partner, David Calle, they brought together product developers, stylists, and product testers to develop their brand.

“This has been a journey for me and I’ve put my heart and soul into this business. I hope you can tell. And I’m really out here to make a difference and make healthy living easier for people. That’s really the goal. So thank you again,” she added.

The College Cup is a university-wide challenge that helps students develop new socially- or commercially-oriented ideas and innovations to positively impact the world.

This year, a record number 25 student-led ventures applied for the challenge. Students came from nearly every TU college. Eventually, 15 ventures made it through all the programming, which includes a bootcamp, submitting an executive summary, a “learn to pitch” classroom session, and practicing pitching to the StarTUp team. The students also had access to and gained feedback from members of the ETU Council, a coalition of faculty and staff engaged in developing and strengthening entrepreneurship across campus.

A group of students pose together after competing in the competition. — Towson University students participated in the 2024 College Cup pitch event at the StarTUp at the Armory on April 2, 2024.

Seven made it through to the end. And, over the course of the last several weeks, they honed their ideas, developed pitch decks, and refined their pitches before pitching in front of a live audience and a panel of business leaders and TU alumni.

The other six finalists include:

Campus Connect, led by Xavier Sabree and Derek Knight: An app that connects college students with other student entrepreneurs/student-run companies on campuses.
Dropped, led by Aliya Pemberton Lightbourne: A platform/business that gives commuter students access to bus transportation to and from campus.
Events by Elle B., led by Lianna Banks: An event planning company.
MAI PT, led by Molli Chang: An app for physical therapy patients to remind them of at-home physical therapy exercises and uses AI technology to guide patients through PT goals.
My Campus Hubs, led by Andres Londoño, Jake Furtaw, Matt Dibbern, William Duckworth III, Caleb Blomquist and Ryan Kraft: An app that connects college students with each other socially, with professors and classmates academically, and with the community surrounding their campuses.
Urban Companions, led by Anastasia Kolomytseva and Eliza Petrova: An app that connects college students with shared housing options off campus.

The finalists each received $1,000 to put toward their venture.

(This article has been reproduced from EngageTU and was originally written and posted by TU StarTUp on April 4, 2024.)

January 26, 2023January 26, 2023

CBE earns extension of AACSB accreditation

AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) — accreditation is the highest seal of quality business schools can receive.

Towson University’s College of Business & Economics (CBE) has earned extension of accreditation for its business and accounting programs from AACSB International — The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

This accreditation is the highest seal of quality business schools can receive and recognizes continuous improvement. TU is part of the less than six percent of schools that are AACSB International-accredited and the less than one percent that are accredited in both academic programs. CBE is one of only four schools in Maryland to hold both accreditations.

AACSB accreditation is the longest-standing, most-recognized form of specialized accreditation business programs can receive worldwide, yet only 949 business schools in 59 countries and territories currently have AACSB accreditation. Of those institutions, only 192 hold the additional, specialized AACSB accreditation for their accounting programs.

TU is part of the less than six percent of schools that are AACSB International-accredited and the less than one percent that are accredited in both academic programs.

Earning this dual distinction requires schools to meet rigorous standards for academic programs, as well as faculty qualifications and scholarship that are designed to challenge educators to pursue excellence. To maintain accreditation, schools must demonstrate how they meet the standards, and strive for continuous improvement, every five years through a peer review process.

In the most recent accreditation maintenance cycle, a team of outside reviewers commended TU for its emphasis on experiential learning, academic advising and career services for its students, and engagement of its advisory groups.

“This extension of accreditation from AACSB is confirmation of CBE’s commitment to excellence and of the high-quality education we provide,” said Interim Dean Judy Harris. “In particular, the peer-review team commended CBE for the depth and quality of faculty engagement and of student-faculty interactions, the dedication of CBE’s Student Academic and Career Advising unit, the strength of our assurance of learning processes, and the college’s significant social impact as measured by faculty intellectual contributions. I am so proud of the hard work of CBE faculty and staff that made this achievement possible.”

AACSB-accredited schools are recognized worldwide by top employers, and many top, global corporations only recruit from AACSB-accredited schools. Achieving AACSB accreditation is a rigorous process that assesses a school’s ability to perform in critical areas — such as teaching, research, curricula development and student learning— and ensures the programs are challenging and teach skills that give a distinct advantage in the real world.

The mission of the College of Business and Economics is to develop high-quality, innovative, and inclusive programs and resources, connect individuals to opportunities by applying theory to practice in curricular, co- curricular and scholarship activities, and transform students into professionals who will have a positive societal impact within Maryland and beyond.

The peer-review team commended CBE for the depth and quality of faculty engagement and of student-faculty interactions, the dedication of CBE’s Student Academic and Career Advising unit, the strength of our assurance of learning processes, and the college’s significant social impact as measured by faculty intellectual contributions.

Over the review period of the last five years, CBE has seen several accomplishments in program creation/revision, faculty research/participation and student impact. Highlights include:

Launching new combined B.S./M.S. programs in BSAP/Supply Chain Management and Business Administration/Marketing Intelligence
Launching new minors in Accounting, Business Analytics, and Business Law
Launching a certificate in Entrepreneurship, the first undergraduate certificate at TU
Faculty publishing 264 peer-reviewed journal articles with 47% in A* or A outlets
Providing six case-competitions in which 5,066 students participated
Mentoring CBE students in the completion of 3,558 credit-based internships

TU first received AACSB accreditation for its business administration program in 1992. In 1994, the accounting department also received AACSB accreditation. In 2008, the business administration program received its maintenance of accreditation. The accounting department followed suit in 2010. In 2013, 2018 and 2023, both programs received five-year extensions.

January 24, 2023January 24, 2023

Students present digital engagement strategies and social media trends to McCormick & Co. for fall case competition

This past December, ten teams and 48 students participated in the Department of Management’s Fall 2022 Live Strategy Case Competition sponsored by McCormick & Company. The McCormick & Co. judges named three winning teams. Students from the winning teams received monetary scholarships for their innovative strategies.

The sponsoring company presented students with a case study about digital engagement, popular culture and social media trends. The case challenged students to “capitalize on consumer trends and develop a digital engagement strategy that further engages the consumers and enhances McCormick’s brand presence and engagement.”

Taking first place in the competition was Team CASIS, a five-member team including Amanda Lien, Clarence Smalley, Ian Harvey-Thomas, Sierra Silkman and Samantha DeLeon.

Students pose with company executives — Members from the first place team, Team Casis, pose with McCormick & Co. executives and CBE faculty.

In second place came The McCormick Club, a five-member team including Carly DiGiacomo, Noah Hagan, Hamza Mushtaq, Richard Slemaker and Taran Thielmann.

Digital Enablers won third place with members Dylan Mayer, Sam Ray and Nicholas Wynn.

The first-place team, Team CASIS, was made up of students from a variety of majors allowing them to draw insight from several disciplines. When asked about the team’s winning strategy, Sierra Silkman their professor, Dr. Koushikee Dutta, for her help with preparing the team for success. “Dr. Dutta [taught us how] to do a comprehensive analysis of the company including internal, external and financial analysis. We used that information to come up with a strategy that we thought would be representative of the company… making sure we hit on all their key strengths.”

Members from the second place team, Team, pose with McCormick & Co. executives and CBE faculty.

Each semester, the upper-level MNGT 481 Strategic Management course offers students the opportunity to compete in the Live Strategy Case Competition to test the knowledge and skills they have gained during the class and throughout their academic careers. It is an excellent opportunity for students to practice presentation skills in a real-world environment, as well as allowing students to network with businesses local to the Towson area.

“This event is not only high impact, experiential, and an amazing learning experience for our graduating students, but it also highlights the best and the brightest in our college marking the beginning of the journey into their professional careers,” Dr. Filiz Tabak said. “None of this could have been possible without the participation of McCormick. We are very grateful to McCormick top executives for their time throughout the semester.”

In total, 310 students across 10 sections of the MNGT 481 capstone course worked on the McCormick case. Students across all sections are divided into teams and given the duration of the semester to research and prepare a written report and presentation. Teams present to their classes and the winning team from each class section goes on to present their case to executives from the sponsoring company.

Members from the third place team, Digital Enablers, pose with McCormick & Co. executives and CBE faculty.

Three McCormick & Co. executives participated in the competition as judges and provided students with invaluable feedback and a plethora of thoughtful questions. “We valued and enjoyed our time supporting TU’s Live Strategy Case Competition,” said Ryan Charlier, McCormick & Company’s Vice President of Finance. “The energy and the thought the students brought to their recommendations was evident in their presentations and provided a great perspective into the minds of one our important and growing consumer bases.”

Senior Genevieve Tchoubfong, a Business Administration major with a concentration in Human Resource Management, presents her team’s case to the McCormick & Co. judges.

When asked what advice they would give to future participants of the Live Strategy Case Competition, members from the first-place team shared two key tips: know your material and have fun.

“You’re here for a reason,” Ian Harvey-Thomas said. “They value you as much as you value them. Knowing your material is all you need. This is your strategy, your research. You know it.”

“The key is having fun,” Sierra added. “We’re very diverse, which helped our team. We had all different majors that came together so we came at it with different perspectives. We have diverse backgrounds as individuals–athletes, people working full time, different personalities. We were able to mesh well, and we worked hard. It was a lot of fun.”

Interested in learning more about or becoming a sponsor for the Department of Management’s Live Strategy Case Competition? Visit our website for more information.

January 23, 2023January 23, 2023

Eighth annual strategic sales competition provides students with real-world sales experience

On November 18, 2022, the Department of Marketing at Towson University held its 8^th Annual Strategic Sales Competition. Nearly 60 students and 44 representatives from 13 corporate partners gathered to participate in the competition. Advance Business Systems, the platinum corporate sponsor for this year’s event, tasked the students with selling a package of various IT services offered by their company and served as “buyers” for the competition.

Representatives from Northwestern Mutual, United Electric Supply, Sherwin-Williams, Lower, MDP, Insight Global, Contour Mortgage, Enterprise, ADP, Chesapeake Plywood, Cvent, memoryBlue, and Stanley Black & Decker served as judges for the competition. Among the group of judges were several alumni including Kevin Carr ’87 (Cvent), Hailey Hardesty ‘19 (Enterprise), Alex Parker ’20 (Northwestern Mutual) and Joe Richardson ’98 (Stanley Black & Decker).

The Sales Competition is a great experience for students to gain hands on sales experience, as well as providing them with the opportunity to network with business professionals from the Towson area. Students from any major and class are welcome to participate, but students in MKTG 452 participate as part of their course.

“The Strategic Sales Competition provides the perfect environment to gather our best students and a large group of representatives of the regional business community. It is the perfect setting – the companies are looking to hire fresh talent and the students are looking for their first job after college,” Dr. Plamen Peev, professor of marketing and organizer of the competition, said. “The event grows every year and hopefully it will help elevate our sales program to where in the next few years we should be able to offer a sales certificate to TU students and establish a sales center within the College of Business and Economics,” he added.

In preparation for the competition, students were asked to develop a sales pitch for a potential buyer. During the competition, students enter a room with one buyer, introduce themselves, and then have 15 minutes to deliver their sales pitch.

When asked about how she prepared for the competition, first place winner Carly Lobus emphasized preparation and rehearsal. “You never know when you’re prepared enough, you never know when to stop,” she said. “My best advice is to practice with somebody, but don’t be too rehearsed.”

Students pose in professional attire — The top three competition winners. From left to right: Haley Haggerty (3rd place), Ayden Schnitzer (2nd place), and Carly Lobus (1st place).

To replicate a “real-world” environment, the judges view the performances from a live stream in another room. From there they can evaluate students’ performances based on their delivery, tactics and ability to address the buyers’ concerns.

Olivia Bushong, Towson University Class of 2015. Photo: LinkedIn.

Woman poses in professional attire — Hayley Beddard, Towson University Class of 2020. Photo: LinkedIn.

Advance is home to several Towson University alumni who represented the company during the competition as buyers. Hayley Beddard ’20, an account sales representative for Advance since June 2022, praised the students for their tenacity and hard work. “I think [the competition] just gives them good real-world experience and helps build some confidence, she said. “I know when I did it myself it was really nerve-wracking, and it took a lot of courage to do it.” Hayley graduated from Towson University in 2020 with a degree in business administration. Olivia Bushong ’15 joined Advance’s marketing and communications team immediately after graduating from Towson University with a degree in mass communications.

The judges selected eight winning students:

Carly Lobus, Senior, Mass Communications
Ayden Schnitzer, Senior, Business Administration, Management Concentration (Leadership & Management)
Haley Haggerty, Senior, Business Administration, Marketing Concentration
Ryan Hashim, Senior, Mass Communications, Marketing Minor
Alicia Anthony, Junior, Mass Communications, Marketing Minor
Josh Munley, Senior, Business Administration, Marketing Concentration
Hannah Herman, Junior, Business Administration, Marketing Concentration
Ellie Pikulsky, Senior, Business Administration, Marketing Concentration

Students pose with their winning certificates — The eight winning students pose (from left to right) with Jeff Elkin, President of Advance Business Systems; Dr. Erin Steffes, Chair of the Department of Marketing; Dr. Judy Harris, Interim Dean of the College of Business and Economics; and Professor Plamen Peev, professor of marketing. The winning students featured center (from left to right) include: Ellie Pikulsky (8th place), Hannah Herman (7th place), Alicia Anthony (5th place), Ryan Hashim (4th place), Haley Haggerty (3rd place), Ayden Schnitzer (2nd place), and Carly Lobus (1st place).

Jeff Elkin, president of Advance, commended the students for their preparation and the quality of their pitches. “We thought the presentations were terrific. Students were clearly very prepared for it and had great training. We were very impressed,” he said. “My advice for future students is to prepare. Know the product. And be yourself.”

All eight winning students received scholarships up to $1,500 for their success in the competition. The top 5 students were also invited to represent Towson University at the National Shore Sales Challenge to be held at Salisbury University this spring.

For more information about the TU Strategic Sales Competition, please visit our website.